Notable PFF grades and playing time: Tigers rely on youth at Virginia Tech |
Taking a deeper look at who played and what kind of performance they put on the board out of the 24-14 win at Virginia Tech.
The number by a player's name initially is the game's snap count. The snaps are all offensive and defensive snaps and do not count special teams. Snap totals for scholarship players and depth chart members are listed in the feature. (PFF grades tend to run lower than school grades, so high 80 grades are on the high end, and it's a harsher grade below 60 or so. They are not an end-all, be-all, but one tool to evaluate the game.) QB: Cade Klubnik 83 snaps (621 on the season), Christopher Vizzina NS (57), Trent Pearman NS (14), Paul Tyson NS (4). PFF grade notes: Klubnik’s overall grade was his second-lowest of the season (63.4), but he did match a season-best with three “big-time throws” per PFF. Pointing to the lower grade, Klubnik also matched his number of big-time throws (BTT) with turnover-worthy plays (3). Klubnik also suffered a season-high in drops (5), with two coming in a much higher rate of blitzes week to week (40.9% to 16.1% against Louisville). He graded lowest on passing concepts tagged as play action (40.1 grade), but he had all three BTT with no play action and two of his three touchdown throws (71.6 grade in that passing concept). RB: Phil Mafah 78 (497), Jay Haynes 5 (101), Jarvis Green ST (9), Keith Adams Jr. NS (59), David Eziomume NS (16; two games of four for redshirt). PFF grade notes: Mafah had one of his lower overall grades of the season (68.5) with a season-low in yards after contact per rush (2.27) with one missed tackle forced. It didn’t help that PFF assessed Clemson’s makeshift O-line with a 49.7 grade in run blocking (second-lowest of the season). WR: Antonio Williams 67 (440), Bryant Wesco 52 (244), Troy Stellato 44 (301), T.J. Moore 36 (315), Cole Turner 28 (204), Adam Randall 4 (184), Hampton Earle ST (28), Noble Johnson NS (38), Tyler Brown* NS (70), Misun Kelley NS (56). PFF grade notes: Turner earned the top receiver grade with his TD through contact in the second half (66 grade). Moore was credited with two drops and Wesco and Williams got in the mix there as well. It was a tough night for Wesco overall, with a season-low grade (47.5) and one catch in five targets for 17 yards. In terms of playing time, one of the bigger drops in snaps came with Randall, who went from 41 versus Louisville to four on Saturday. TE: Jake Briningstool 64 (482), Olsen Patt-Henry 27 (189), Josh Sapp 5 (85), Markus Dixon ST (26), Christian Bentancur NS (8; one game). PFF grade notes: Bringinstool bounced back to set the Clemson tight end career receptions record (113), tallying three catches in six targets with a touchdown. PFF liked Sapp’s impact in the run-blocking game (68.5) and he finished with the best grade for a Clemson offensive player (67.7). OL: Blake Miller 83 (625), Ryan Linthicum 83 (645), Harris Sewell 83 (330), Walker Parks 79 (458), Elyjah Thurmon 74 (145), Tristan Leigh* 9 (547), Trent Howard 4 (54), Ronan O'Connell ST (7; two games), Mason Wade ST (29; three games), Chapman Pendergrass ST (17), Marcus Tate* NS (466). PFF grade notes: Linthicum led the O-line group with a 67.7 grade. With Sewell shifted over to left guard in Tate’s place, Parks had no clear replacement and played his most snaps since the 2022 season’s Orange Bowl (79; 105 vs. Tennessee). Pressed into action with Leigh’s in-game injury, Thurmon was solid in pass protection with one pressure allowed in 42 pass-blocking snaps (third-best grade on OL with double-digit snaps; 63.3). PFF unit performance grades: Offense - 57.9; Passing - 64.2; Pass blocking - 60; Receiving - 55.8; Running - 66.4; Run blocking - 49.7. DL: T.J. Parker 49 (349), Payton Page 43 (341), Jahiem Lawson 35 (228), Stephiylan Green 35 (209), Tré Williams 22 (226), Cade Denhoff 16 (185), A.J. Hoffler 14 (159), Armon Mason 13 (77), Hevin Brown-Shuler 6 (33; three games), Zaire Patterson 3 (19), Caden Story 3 (51), Champ Thompson NS (20; two games), Vic Burley NS (74), DeMonte Capehart* NS (198), Peter Woods* NS (154), Darien Mayo NS (21). PFF grade notes: Parker was a force in the backfield with four pressures and four stops, including one on an attempted throwback pass trick play. He graded third-best on the defense overall (76.6), as by far the leader on pass rush (76.4) and also third-best in coverage for his one play there (75.6). LB: Wade Woodaz 63 (481), Barrett Carter 63 (480), Sammy Brown 31 (175), Dee Crayton ST (74), Jamal Anderson ST (37), Drew Woodaz NS (7; one game), C.J. Kubah-Taylor NS (1; one game). PFF grade notes: Carter shook off a tough game against Louisville with a 78.8 grade, notching two pressures, three stops and just one catch allowed in three targets for seven yards. Brown got his first career start and played a career-high in snaps, making his impact in the backfield with 2.5 TFLs (one sack) for a solid 65.1 overall grade (72.1 in run defense). DB: Khalil Barnes 63 (463), R.J. Mickens 63 (462), Ashton Hampton 40 (173), Avieon Terrell 36 (464), Jeadyn Lukus* 32 (423), Kylon Griffin 24 (241), Tyler Venables 6 (119), Ricardo Jones 5 (77), Ronan Hanafin 1 (67), Sherrod Covil ST (108), Kylen Webb ST (15), Rob Billings ST (15), Shelton Lewis* NS (175), Branden Strozier NS (59), Noah Dixon NS (6; one game), Joe Wilkinson NS (3; one game), Tavoy Feagin NS (9; one game), Corian Gipson NS (6; two games). PFF grade notes: Hampton pulled off an incredible interception and paced Clemson’s defensive grades (83.8) in time spelling both Lukus and Terrell. He was targeted the most (5) but allowed just 52 yards. Terrell was on the lower end of his season grades (55), while there was some disparity in the grades for starting safeties Mickens (72.2; fourth-best on Clemson’s defense) and Barnes (53.1). PFF unit performance grades: Defense - 72.1; Run defense - 76.6; Tackling - 52.2; Pass rush - 57.1; Coverage - 76.7. Players noted as out for the season: OL Ian Reed, DB Myles Oliver, OL Watson Young, LB Kobe McCloud, OL Dietrick Pennington, OL Collin Sadler. ST - Special teams-only NS - No snaps listed * Been noted as injured by Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. Grades and snaps from Clemson-Georgia Grades and snaps from Clemson-App State Grades and snaps from Clemson-NC State Grades and snaps from Clemson-Stanford Grades and snaps from Clemson-Florida State Grades and snaps from Clemson-Wake ForestClemson-Virginia Tech breakdown
Offense
Defense
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